I recently read an interesting article by Professor David Clutterbuck, Practice Lead, Clutterbuck Associates. It was posted in The OCM Coach and Mentor Journal 2010. Having met him in late 2010, and having some personal experience in the establishment of mentorship programs, I found the article, “Who and what makes mentoring programmes work?” to be both informative and a confirmation of many of those elements that we’ve found to be useful in mentorship programs.
Clutterbuck reaffirms that it is the well-designed, well-managed program that delivers superior results, and I certainly agree. There are several keys to success in launching a great mentorship program. Allow me to add a few comments related to a few things that we believe should be included in the “Beginning” stage of the good mentorship program.
We recommend that an appropriate orientation and training session be provided for both mentors and protégés (mentees). This can really position the program participants for success. Not only does it allow them to more fully understand their various roles, it should also provide a safe environment to familiarize themselves with the basic skills and interpersonal behaviours that can be reasonably anticipated within the forthcoming mentoring relationship.
Why is that so important? As Clutterbuck states, “Typically, where both mentors and mentees have been trained, and line managers briefed, over 90% of relationships deliver significant learning and are valued by participants. By contrast, programmes without training rarely deliver significant value for more than a third of participants.”
In one of our first engagements, Pro-Vision Solutions Inc. facilitated an Orientation Session that introduced the concept of mentorship to members of a business networking group. While the group they were in continued to fill a valid need for the members, this subset was interested in the benefits of participating in a more comprehensive, one to one mentorship program. A few weeks after the Orientation Session, many of these people attended a focussed Training Session providing them with in depth, hands-on experience, similar to that suggested by Clutterbuck. Attendees were free to ask questions prior to entering into the working relationship with their Mentor or Protégé. Reflecting back, the response from attendees to both sessions was overwhelmingly positive. In our opinion, the orientation and training provided on the front end, allowed for a much smoother running program, requiring less intervention on the part of the organization and program manager.
